The Pre-Import Inspection, Testing and Certification Program (known as ICIGI) was put into effect by the Central Organization for Standardization and Quality Control (COSQC) on 01.01.2020 in the Republic of Iraq. The program aimed at quality control of goods imported into Iraq and protection of consumers from low-quality goods. As stated in the program, a Certificate of Conformity has been made mandatory for each shipment of goods subject to mandatory regulation in order to complete customs procedures. The list of products subject to mandatory regulation includes the following categories – toys, kitchenware, food, auto, chemicals, construction materials, hardware, tires and automobiles, household appliances, tobacco products, cosmetics and perfumery products, textiles and footwear.

The process of verifying the conformity of goods to Iraqi Standards can be described as follows: submission of an application with the requested documents, physical inspection of the goods and laboratory testing. After completing the verification process, the final invoice, BL (other shipping document) and other documents, if necessary, must be provided for the issuance of the certificate of conformity.

In case of regular shipments to Iraq, a 1-year certificate of conformity can be obtained. By having this certificate, the exporter benefits from a simplified quality control of the goods exported to Iraq. For any 10 product shipments made by the exporter with the certificate, every 6 product shipments must be unattended and 4 must be inspected before loading.